Archipelagos (video game)

Infobox VG
title = Archipelagos


caption=Title screen of Archipelagos (Atari ST)
developer = Astral Software
publisher = Logotron
released= 1989
genre= action/strategy
modes= Single player
ratings= N/A - release pre-dated ESRB
platforms= Amiga, Atari ST, DOS
media = Floppy disk
input= Keyboard, Mouse

"Archipelagos" is a 1989 first person action and strategy video game developed by Astral Software and playable on Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS-enabled PCs. A remake of "Archipelagos", called "Archipelagos 2000" and developed by Anthill Studios was released for Windows in 1999.

Plot

The game takes place on a series of islands (the titular archipelagos). These islands were created by a mysterious race known only as the Ancients. The Ancients also created another race, the Visitors, who ended up being their downfall, as the Visitors rebelled against their creators, ultimately killing them. As the blood of the slaughtered Ancients soaked into the land, the worlds they had created became twisted and poisoned. This is the world the player now finds themselves in, with the task of restoring the islands to their former, uncorrupted glory.

Gameplay

The game is played from a first person 3D view. The player is not a specific character, but rather a kind of disembodied consciousness. Each level consists of a landscape made up of one or more lost islands. Each level has a stone obelisk, a number of egg shaped boulders, and various hazards, such as animated trees, souls, or other enemies. The aim of each level is to destroy all of the eggs. Once all of the eggs are destroyed a timer starts. The player then has 90 seconds to reach the obelisk and destroy it.

Various obstacles stand in the player's way. There are animated trees which spread the blood of the ancients from their roots as they move around. Moving into an area contaminated by the blood damages the player. Also, once the timer has been started by destroying all of the eggs the trees become enraged, and swarm towards the player. Later levels introduce other creatures and hazards, but the essential gameplay remains the same throughout the game. As the game levels are procedurally generated from seed numbers there are 9999 levels in total. (see citation link 2)

Reception

"Archipelagos" received largely positive reviews upon release. The Atari ST version received review scores of 92%, 84% and 9/10 respectively from "The One magazine" (issue 7, Apr 89), "ST/Amiga Format" magazine (issue 11, May 89), and "Atari ST User" (unknown issue, Jun 89) [cite web|url=http://www.atari.st/view.php?id=73|title=Little Green Desktop page showing review scores for The One, ST/Amiga Format and ST User|accessdate=2007-12-03] The Amiga version scored 79% from "CU Amiga" (Jun 89) and 90% in "Zzap" (Issue 51, Jul 89) [cite web|url=http://amigareviews.classicgaming.gamespy.com/archipel.htm|title=CU Amiga and Zzap reviews of Amiga version of Archipelagos|accessdate=2007-12-03] Elements of the game highlighted in reviews included the 3D graphics, which were seen as very advanced for the time, the atmospheric nature of the game, and its originality.

References

External links

* [http://www.atari.st/view.php?id=73 Archipelagos (Atari ST) at The Little Green Desktop]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/atari-st/archipelagos Archipelagos (Atari ST) at Mobygames]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/archipelagos-2000 Archipelagos 2000 remake (Windows) at Mobygames]